Besides Family Fun Twin Cities, I spend my 9 to 5 at a day job pursuing my weird passion for calendars and organizing things as a legal secretary. When I get home I spend my time with my four kids, 10, 6, 4 and 1. My amazing husband is both a full-time musician and full-time stay-at-home dad. Together we run a small radio empire — SiaNet Radio — playing, promoting and enjoying the wide variety of local music and art in the Twin Cities. I juggle all this while writing about exploring the Twin Cities with kids. I couldn’t be happier.

Oh, it is summer, finally! I took Gianna’s advice on her 5-Step Summer Planning this year, and my family’s dance card is full from now until school starts. It’s amazing how much the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota have to offer. I would like to do everything on the Free List this weekend, but we have to be reasonable. We’re going to the Cat In The Hat on Friday night (see my review next week) and a school party on Saturday. If we get to Flint Hills on Sunday, we won’t leave time for errand running or (God forbid) housework. Not that I’m complaining. If you don’t have a plan for the weekend, below are five great options and there is plenty more on The Calendar. Read More

If we left it up to Anne to write her own bio, it would never get posted. She doesn't enjoy talking about herself, but Anne does love exploring the Twin Cities with her family and sharing her finds here. She, her husband and their four kids are lifelong residents of St. Paul.

Parking can be a hassle and, in our opinion, the activities in the Family Fun District can be a drain on the wallet, but there will be free live music on the Family Stage and interactive games in the Sports District. Free Metro Transit bus passes can be downloaded here. Get more details at the Grand Old Day website.

The fun, and completely free, activities at WaterFest (minus the food, natch) will keep you busy for hours. There are watercraft rides and fishing lessons on Lake Phalen, booths of hands-on exhibits, the Park & Rec portable climbing wall, archery, and lots more. Those are my kids, at right, learning about life down in the sewers from the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District.

Join tpt for their annual Family Fun Day at Como. Special activities include: songwriting for kids with Steven Sanders of Snapdragon Seeds (take it from me – this can be a fun keepsake), TV character appearances on the Sparky Stage, and discounted Como Town ride wristbands ($12/tpt member, $14/non-member).

If we left it up to Anne to write her own bio, it would never get posted. She doesn't enjoy talking about herself, but Anne does love exploring the Twin Cities with her family and sharing her finds here. She, her husband and their four kids are lifelong residents of St. Paul.

Kids Bowl Free*34 locations in Minnesota Now – Labor Day, 2015 (may vary by site) *Kids bowl up to 2 games free, shoe rental fees apply for all ages! Note: This article was originally published on FFTC in 2013 and has been updated for 2015.

Yes, it’s budget entertainment and a fun way to keep cool in the summer, but before you register the children for Kids Bowl Free know that the name of the program is a bit misleading. The two-games-per-day-per-kid deal is definitely free. But, at least according to the lanes I went to last summer, shoe rental is required for each bowler (this included my under-three-year-old). I was aware of the conditions when I registered, so I was prepared to pay the $3 shoe rental fee – which made the outing certainly not free, but nevertheless a relatively budget outing for under $10.

The kids had a great time, too. Bumpers popped up at the touch of a button. Computerized scoring helped this math-challenged mom. There was even a ramp to help the youngest start her ball down the right track – but still let her feel independent. Two games provided just the right amount of fun before weariness and whining for snacks set in.

Registering for the program is simple. This handy link will help you find the closest of 30 bowling locales in Minnesota. Once you’ve found it, fill out the online form and your weekly vouchers will arrive via email. Print vouchers ahead of time and bring them only to the location you’ve registered for (it is possible to register at more than one alley, but separate accounts are required for each).

Besides Family Fun Twin Cities, I spend my 9 to 5 at a day job pursuing my weird passion for calendars and organizing things as a legal secretary. When I get home I spend my time with my four kids, 10, 6, 4 and 1. My amazing husband is both a full-time musician and full-time stay-at-home dad. Together we run a small radio empire — SiaNet Radio — playing, promoting and enjoying the wide variety of local music and art in the Twin Cities. I juggle all this while writing about exploring the Twin Cities with kids. I couldn’t be happier.

Mad Munchkin Productions is in its second and final week of Tracing Fault Lines. This family-friendly (recommended for ages 8 and up) puppetry, mask and movement production features original music and explores natural disasters, such as volcanoes; man-made disasters, like agriculture gone rogue; and interpersonal tragedies. Tomorrow night (Thursday) is a Pay-As-Able Performance. Pay at the door on a first-come-first-served basis. Otherwise, you can get $15 tickets for all performances HERE.

If we left it up to Anne to write her own bio, it would never get posted. She doesn't enjoy talking about herself, but Anne does love exploring the Twin Cities with her family and sharing her finds here. She, her husband and their four kids are lifelong residents of St. Paul.

I jotted down a few notes after I visited Caponi Art Park with two of my girls for the first time last summer: “It was not the kind of park my 4-year-old daughter imagined we’d be going to when we set out that morning, but she was singing its praises by the time we were on our way out. The importance of creativity and nature in play is not lost on her.”

We had gone with the purpose of checking out Caponi’s Family Fun Tuesdays, a program that will rev up again next week (June 3, to be exact) for it’s 16th season. The series makes a variety of cultural – and educational – performers accessible to families in an environment that inspires imagination. At right, my girls are taking in a West African folk tale by storyteller Jerry Blue.

You can find the full Family Fun Tuesdays lineup here. Plan to spend time afterwards exploring some of the 60 acres that make up this woodland sculpture garden. Art pops up in unexpected places, down meandering paths, and begs for interpretation!

Saturday, May 31, Caponi Art Park will host its annual Spring Open House from 1 – 4pm. Live music and a children’s art activity will promote Caponi’s September Bluegrass Festival.

Besides Family Fun Twin Cities, I spend my 9 to 5 at a day job pursuing my weird passion for calendars and organizing things as a legal secretary. When I get home I spend my time with my four kids, 10, 6, 4 and 1. My amazing husband is both a full-time musician and full-time stay-at-home dad. Together we run a small radio empire — SiaNet Radio — playing, promoting and enjoying the wide variety of local music and art in the Twin Cities. I juggle all this while writing about exploring the Twin Cities with kids. I couldn’t be happier.

Sometimes we don’t do any of the things we previewed. Whether you chose to hang out in your backyard, hit one of the great activities around the twin cities or travel further out into the world, we hope you had a great Memorial Day Weekend. We did. We’ve shared pictures of our weekend below. Read More

Besides Family Fun Twin Cities, I spend my 9 to 5 at a day job pursuing my weird passion for calendars and organizing things as a legal secretary. When I get home I spend my time with my four kids, 10, 6, 4 and 1. My amazing husband is both a full-time musician and full-time stay-at-home dad. Together we run a small radio empire — SiaNet Radio — playing, promoting and enjoying the wide variety of local music and art in the Twin Cities. I juggle all this while writing about exploring the Twin Cities with kids. I couldn’t be happier.

I am a mama. I live with my husband and four children in a tiny house. And I’m tired. If I could get through just one day without an emotional breakdown over socks, I would be thrilled. My children are tempermental. They are ACTIVE and exhausting, constantly testing their boundaries.

I don’t want to admit how often I become Mommyzilla trashing all the “treasures” in my house. I roar unnecessarily at the bystanders and scare them into their rooms. Mommy can’t stand hearing her name ONE. MORE. TIME. They really shouldn’t need me like this.

Yet they do, and they keep needing me.

And if one more person tells me to enjoy this time because it’s over before you know it, so help me!

My goal each morning is to make it through until I can put them to bed. I may even try to get the dishes done.

After doing the dishes for a 1/2 hour, I can see this

And then I turn my head and see this

It is all-consuming work–this parenting thing. It’s thankless and messy. It’s an anxiety attack on steriods. There’s not a night where I don’t fall into bed thinking about everything I did wrong during the 3 seconds it takes me to fall asleep.

But then in the morning I wake up, and somehow I do it all again with renewed strength. Because I am a parent–a completely imperfect parent that screws things up more than I do things right. That’s why parents are strong. Though we keep getting knocked down, each day we get back up and start again.

Because I have today and only today– with opportunities to roar and hug, feed and clean, fold laundry and giggle, defend and discipline, apologize and cry. And I’m going to embrace it all.

Besides Family Fun Twin Cities, I spend my 9 to 5 at a day job pursuing my weird passion for calendars and organizing things as a legal secretary. When I get home I spend my time with my four kids, 10, 6, 4 and 1. My amazing husband is both a full-time musician and full-time stay-at-home dad. Together we run a small radio empire — SiaNet Radio — playing, promoting and enjoying the wide variety of local music and art in the Twin Cities. I juggle all this while writing about exploring the Twin Cities with kids. I couldn’t be happier.

This is a share from my email. Another sign of Summer is that Sparky the Sea Lion will be back outside starting Saturday. I’m assuming Sparky isn’t actually 58 years old. Does anyone know how many Sparky incarnations there have been? I’d like to know.